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Monday, 22 October 2012

Terry Burton's U21 side managed to build on their 2-0 home win over Reading a fortnight ago by beating Everton at their Finch Farm Training Complex on Monday afternoon.

There are several positives to be taken from the match, most notably Jack Wilshere, Bacary Sagna and Emmanuel Frimpong completing another 90 minutes in their road to fitness.

After a lapse of concentration by Ignasi Miquel, which Apostolos Vellios promptly capitalised on, Thomas Eisfeld scored an excellent brace to secure the 2-1 victory for the Gunners.

The young German was inches away from a hatrick when he unleashed a powerful effort on goal from distance, only for it to cannon off the woodwork.

Eisfeld, who contributed with six goals and six assists in 12 games last year for Borussia Dortmund U19s, clearly has a natural ability to create and score goals. He has shown this on a number of occasions already since joining Arsenal, netting twice in the pre-season tour of Asia and grabbing four goals in eight games in the U21 league.

Goalscoring midfielders at Arsenal have been a rarity since the days of Bobby Pires and Freddie Ljungberg, so Eisfeld could prove to be an invaluable asset in the coming years.

Wilshere showed his quality throughout, with some sweeping passes and a clever assist for Eisfeld's second, cutting in from the right and playing in his teammate whose finish was clinical.

Burton will be pleased with the way his side recovered after going a goal down early on, in a match which proved much tougher than the comfortable 3-0 home win in the corresponding fixture earlier this season.

A trip to France now beckons for Arsenal's young guns, where they face Marseille in the Next Gen Series on Thursday - a game they cannot afford to lose.